Running From The Past
by virgo-princess93
Summary: What happens if our gentle Natsumi had a dark past that she's run and hidden from so long... and it just happens to catch up with her? My first fic, so please r&r and be gentle! Last Chapter up!
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own the GetBackers… I just wish I did!!!!!

Enjoy!!

* * *

It was late at night but the GetBackers were still in the Honky Tonk, waiting for Hevn to arrive.

"What is taking her so long?! If she doesn't hurry up, we're not taking the job!" said Ban

"Demo Ban-chan," whined Ginji, "how are we going to get any money if we refuse thejob?"

"I'm here!" said Hevn, stepping into the Honky Tonk, followed by Shido, Kazuki, Jubei and Himiko.

"Irasshaimasse! Would you like some coffee?" Natsumi smiled at them.

Himiko, Hevn and Kazuki nodded while Shido and Jubei simply shook their heads.

"What are they doing here? We don't need their help for this job and besides, I don't want to share the money with them." growled Ban.

"You never know when you might need help and the client wanted them to. He said it might be dangerous."

Ban banged his fist on the table, causing it to shake.

Ginji, Natsuni and Paul just watched them, smiling slightly. This was a common scene for them.

"We can handle anything."

"Just shut up and listen will you?"

Ban didn't shut up. "What about the money?"

Hevn smirked at this. "He's giving you each 5 million yen IF you retrieve it, so don't worry about that, okay?"

Ban looked at Hevn in awe and amazement. He sat down from his chair, gaping in silent awe.

It was quiet while Natsumi was handing them their coffee. They hadn't expected to get that much money.

"Right." Hevn took a sip of coffee "Well our client's name is Suo Takahashi and he wants us to retrieve a stolen diskette."

"Where can we retrieve it from?" asked Kazuki.

"He said you could find it in the Forbidden Section… in Babylon City." replied Hevn.

Natsumi, who had been carrying a few cups in after their last customers had left suddenly dropped what she was carrying but she took no notice of it as she looked up at surprise at Hevn.

"What is it Natsumi? Is something bothering you?" asked Himiko.

It took a few seconds before Natsumi simply shook her head and said, "It's nothing, I was just surprised to hear about Babylon City, that's all."

The group exchanged glances but did not ask any further questions.

"As I was saying," continued Hevn, " it was stolen by a group of scientists and he warned us that it was important that we get it back because on that diskette was very important data that must not fall into the wrong hands."

"What would happen if it did?" asked Shido curiously.

"The scientists just might use it to destroy and kill all the citizens of Mugenjou."

There was a moment of silence as each one thought silently about this, except Paul who just turned the page of his newspaper.

Then, the silence was broken when Ginji suddenly asked, "What's that smell?"

Himiko put a nose in the air and said, "Aa, I definitely smell something. It smells like… shoot, poison!"

Everyone started to cover their noses but it was already too late. The poison had already seeped into their systems and soon they were all falling on the floor, unconscious.

Natsumi was the last to fall, but not before muttering, "No way…"

* * *

Well what did you think?

I'm sorry if there aren't many Japanese words because even though I watch anime, I'm not Japanese (I'm a Filipino!) and so I can't speak that language although I do know a couple of words.

Please review my story!!!


	2. Chapter Two

Hello there! I'm back!

But first, to answer a few reviews… thank you to all of you!

**lonestar88 – **thank you for saying that it's good… I'm updating already, see?

**water melon wolfie – **I love cliffies too… especially when I make them!

**Youkai Ryuu – **thanks for the Japanese 101. I'll see to it that I'll change that part… if I'm not lazy which I usually am so don't get you're hopes up. I know I read that word somewhere… just forgot where. I'm used to making more dialogues BUT I'll try to put more descriptions. You're really a critic, aren't you?

**obssdGB – **Hello there! Salamat sa comment mo… as for them falling easy… let's just say that the poison was really good, shall we? Pinahihirapan mo naman ako e!

If it's in italics, it's a thought. Also, if the word is underlined or in bold letters, the person put emphasis on that word.

And lastly, I'm sorry about the age gap in Natsumi's life, you're supposed to be older to have a 'deep dark past' but since Natsumi's only 17…

Thank you to all… now on with the story!

* * *

Natsumi awoke and groaned. The last thing she remembered was that she smelled a poison and afterwards, she had fallen unconscious. Pushing herself up, she took a good look around her surroundings and gasped, startled. 

_This place looks very familiar._

Grimly, she pushed those thoughts away.

_Leave unwanted thoughts for later._

"Are you alright, minna?"

She was relieved when she heard them groan and mutter. It showed that they were alive and well.

_Not for long._

"It's about time you all woke up. The poison must have been stronger than I thought." A mysterious voice said suddenly.

Everybody tensed at this as they all grabbed their respective weapons.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Yet." He said.

The door swung open as the man stepped in. Light flooded the cell as he did so.

"Who are you and what do you want from us?" growled Shido, in a very wolf-like matter.

"Why don't you ask Natsumi?" he shot back. Turning to Natsumi, he said, "Long time no see, Natsumi-chan."

"What do you want from them, Ryuki?" she replied angrily. Everyone was startled at this. They didn't think that Natsumi would actually know this mysterious man.

Ryuki stroked his chin thoughtfully. A few minutes of silence passed, which everybody used to take a good look at their captor. He wore a black leather trench coat. He also had a red shirt and brown pants on. **1** He had short, blue-black hair and dark black eyes.

Finally, he said, "Actually, I'm only following orders from my boss." Natsumi snorted here.

"What does he want from us?" asked Kazuki cautiously.

"First of all, you ought to know that he is the head of the Forbidden Section of Babylon City."

"They're the ones who stole the diskette from Takahashi-san." Stated Jubei matter-of-factly.

Ryuki nodded. "Aa. You guys are retrievers hired by Takahashi-san to get the diskette, correct?

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"He wants you to stop interfering in his, no, our business." He continued

"And if we don't?" said Himiko.

"He could kill you. Dou you remember the poison you inhaled? Inside it are probes that contain poison and are now flowing in your bloodstream. With the touch of a button, he could kill you painfully and instantly. Since he says that he is a good man, he won't use it unless you stop interfering with our plans."

The retrievers glanced at each other worriedly. They had no desire to die, neither to give up on their job.

"Also, there is another thing he wants," Ryuki turned his full attention to Natsumi, "He wants you to come back."

Natsumi shifted uncomfortably. There was a reason she had left this godforsaken place.

"He should know by now that I won't work for him ever again. Besides, after what I've done, it's a surprise that he would welcome me with open arms." she replied coolly, although inside, she was far from it.

By now, everybody in the room, except Ryuki and Natsumi, were either confused or bewildered.

"Regardless of what you have done, you were still the best assassin he ever had and that is what he needs right now." He stated smoothly.

The only thing running through Ban, Ginji, Kazuki, Jubei, Shido and Himiko's minds were, _Natsumi, an assassin? That's impossible!_

"And if you don't do it, he will finish the mission you started out to do." He said silkily.

Then smirking, he whispered in a dangerously soft voice, "Isn't ironic, Natsumi-chan, that the very people you were sent to kill were the very ones you befriended?"

There was an audible gasp all around the room.

Natsumi bowed her down, shaking with fury and yet at the same time, sadness.

_Time to say goodbye to the life you knew, Natsumi._

When she finally had the strength, she raised her head and sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it. Just as long as you leave my friends alone." she said sadly.

Ryuki nodded. "I'll give you 10 minutes to explain this all to them," he took one glance at the others, " I'm quite sure they're confused now."

She simply nodded her head quietly.

As he was nearing the door, he stopped, turned around and said, " Off the record, I'm glad you're coming back to work for us."

Natsumi sighed. "But I won't like it."

Ryuki nodded. "As long as you do you're job properly, he doesn't care whether you like it or not."

Once he was out the room, Natsumi turned to the others and said, "I'm sure you all want to here about this now, huh?"

"It all started 8 years ago…"

* * *

Author's note: 

**1**Ryuki's shirt is red, sort of like Ban's.

Yaaayyy! Suspense!

Is that enough descriptions for you? I hope it is. Anyway, I already know what I'm going to do in the next chapter, so watch out for it!

Till next time!


	3. Chapter Three

* * *

Ohayo, minna-san! I'm back! 

Okay, so before I begin this chapter, I just want to tell you that this entire chapter (or at least most of it) will be in flashback form of Natsumi's past.

Also, I'm running out of ideas with what to do after this part of the story so if you want, you could suggest on what you want me to do. That'll give you an excuse to review my story, right?

Thanks to all those who reviewed... you guys make me happier each day!

* * *

From last chapter: 

Once he was out the room, Natsumi turned to the others and said, "I'm sure you all want to here about this now, huh?"

"It all started 8 years ago..."

* * *

"Okasan! Otosan! You're back!" yelled a cheerful nine-year old Natsumi.

The parents smiled happily as they watched their daughter run, with open arms, towards them.

When she reached them, her father scooped her up in his arms and hugged her as the mother smiled at them gently, happy and content with the life she led.

They were rich, with many servants to care for them but what she had was more precious than all the riches in the world.

Her daughter.

Little did they know about the event that was going to occur, that would change the lives of this happy and blessed family forever.

* * *

(2 months later)

There was a knock on the door as Natsumi's parents were tucking her into bed.

"Who could that be? It's already so late at night." wondered Natsumi's mother.

"I'll get it." said her husband, going out of the large room to answer the door.

Natsumi stirred at the sound and whispered sleepily, "Who's that?"

Her mother smiled and said, "Go back to sleep, Natsumi. Your father just went out to answer the door."

Natsumi nodded and said, with a smile on her face, "Good night, Okasan."

"Good night."

Natsumi yawned and rolled back into bed.

Natsumi's mother gently closed the door and went to check on her husband.

"_What's taking him so long to answer the door" _She wondered.

Just as she reached the door, she gave a shriek.

There was blood everywhere on the porch, coming from a body that lay on the steps.

The body of her husband.

Suddenly, somebody grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth so that she couldn't make a sound.

That person pierced a sword right through her heart.

Thieves came out of hiding, stealing everything they could lay their hands on. Murderers went around the house, scrounging for luxurious items and killing the numerous servants as they went.

All the while, one girl stood and watched it all, with shock and fear written all over her face.

Natsumi had been woken up by the sound of her mother's scream. She had run the long stairs as fast as she could, wondering what could have caused her mother to scream like that.

She had watched her mother be killed right in front of her eyes.

She didn't stand there but she ran to her room, gathering what little money she had into a bag. She shoved spare clothes and a small amount of food into the bag too.

That night, she ran away, away from the comfortable life she once knew.

* * *

(1 year later)

Natsumi closed her eyes as she remembered the events of that fateful day.

It was exactly one year after that day.

Trying to recall all the things she had done since running away, she closed her eyes.

She had been on the run for a year, never staying at one inn for too long, for fear that the thieves would try to come and kill her.

She had also learned how to pickpocket and gamble, her supply of money and food having run out a long time ago.

Truth be told, she had seen a different side of life after she had left. Now she knew how it felt to have no home, food or money.

Natsumi sighed. She wished that it had never happened. She wanted to go back to the life she had before but she couldn't, for no one can turn back the hands of time.

She stood up, picking her bag up as she did so.

Natsumi walked down the stairs of the inn, sadly wishing she could stay longer.

As she was paying her bill, the owner looked at her oddly.

"You're a pretty young lass to be traveling alone. How old are you?"

"10 years old, sir"

"Are you sure that you don't want to stay longer? You look pretty tired to me."

"I am sir, but I have somewhere else to be."

_Wherever that place is, I sure as hell don't know where it is._

The owner nodded.

"Have a safe trip."

"Thank you."

* * *

(1 year later)

Natsumi followed this man to Mugenjou City, looking at him warily and strangely.

He had come across her being bullied by bandits. He had saved her, using a fighting style she had never seen before.

He had told her to come with him to Babylon City. They had been traveling for 3 days now.

That night, as the settled down for the night, he began to speak.

"Do you want to become strong, to learn how to fight and protect yourself?" he asked.

"Yes." She answered, wondering why he had asked that.

"In order to do this, are you willing to do anything to reach your goal?"

Another nod.

He paused then asked, "How old are you kid?"

"I'm 11, and my name's not 'kid', it's Natsumi."

He scratched his chin thoughtfully, and then asked, "How would you like me to teach you how to fight?"

Natsumi's eyes widened as she nodded. She would do absolutely anything to grow strong.

_One day, I'm going to protect others, so that what happened to my parents won't happen to them._

"There is one condition." He stated, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Anything." She replied breathlessly.

He turned his black eyes toward her, making her inwardly shudder uncomfortably.

"You have to work for the Forbidden Section in Babylon City."

Natsumi agreed to this and bid him a good night, retiring to her bed sleepily.

As the days went by, she learned more about her mysterious companion.

His name was Ryuki and he worked as an assassin the Forbidden Section.

He explained that the people there helped those in the Lower Level of Mugenjou City, improving their lives and more.

He said that an assassin's job was to kill those who did not obey the rules and regulations of the city.

At first Natsumi thought that killing others was bad but he explained that those who did not obey the rules endangered the lives of the innocent ones and should therefore be stopped and punished.

Ryuki also taught her to fight. The fighting style was called Heavenly Wind. Using this, you would be able to control the wind in such a way that it could cut the opponent or create and deadly vacuum. She had already mastered a few moves but they still had room for further improvement.

For the first time since the death of her parents, she felt content and happy.

_I'll become strong, you'll see. Just watch me, Okasan and Otosan. _

* * *

(2 years later)

Natsumi watched the setting sun. It was her most favorite sight and she came to watch it everyday.

Tomorrow, she would officially begin her job as an assassin. She wasn't so sure of herself since she was, at 13, the youngest assassin there ever was but Ryuki promised to watch over her.

_He's like my big brother. He protects me and he was the one who taught me to protect myself._

When she had arrived at Babylon City, she had been scared because of all the strange people and passageways. After a while, she befriended these people and memorized all the passageways by heart.

However, what she was proudest of was that she had finally mastered the technique of 'Heavenly Wind'.

_Please watch over me, Okasan and Otosan. I want to make you proud._

* * *

(2 years later)

She had been called for her next assignment. The only difference was that the boss of the Forbidden City would brief her.

I wonder what he's like.

For the past 2 years, she had killed many delinquents and offenders. She had even earned a name for herself, the 'Moon Goddess of Babylon City'.

And it was true. Her blue-black hair made it seem that way.

"Come in." a deep voice said.

Natsumi took a deep breath and entered the dimly lit room.

"What is it that you want me to do?"

"Kill the Four Kings of the VOLTS organization."

"Where can I find them?" You never asked why, you just followed orders. That's the way it was around there.

"The Thunder Emperor has left them and they have disbanded. I am quite sure you will find them outside Mugenjou."

Natsumi bowed slightly and left the room. Already, a plan was forming in her head...

* * *

(that night)

"Ryuki-kun, I want to talk to you about something"

"What is it Natsumi-chan?"

Ryuki smiled at this. Over the years, Natsumi had become the baby sister he never had.

"I don't want to kill anymore. It just feels... wrong."

He was startled at this. This was the first time she had ever brought this up.

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I thought that I was supposed to protect people but the only thing I've done is murder. Also, how can we improve people's lives by KILLING. It's wrong, I know it is. I need a break. I want to get out and start a new life."

"You mean stop working for the Forbidden Section?" Ryuki asked, surprised. He could hardly believe it. This was her home.

Natsumi nodded silently.

Ryuki sighed. He didn't want to let her go, but if that was what she wanted, he would help her achieve her goal no matter what.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"The boss wants me to kill the former Four Kings of Volts. He said that they were outside Mugenjou. That means that I have to go out." She explained carefully.

"And?"

"Well, what if I go out and never come back?"

"He'll find out, you know. Sometimes, I think he sees everything."

"That's where you come in."

"Huh?"

"I need you to volunteer to look for me after I've disappeared. When they ask you where I am, tell me that I was murdered and I wasn't able to finish my assignment, understood?"

"Understood. Just be safe okay?"

Natsumi nodded and hugged Ryuki.

"I'm gonna miss you." She whispered softly. "Thank you for everything."

"I'll miss you too. I'll see if I can visit you if I have the time." He replied hoarsely, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to escape. They had been so close and now...

"How will you find me?" she asked curiously.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, kid." He grinned.

"Well, bye then. Take good care of yourself." said Natsumi.

"You too kid, you too." replied Ryuki.

* * *

(back to the present)

"And that's what happened." finished Natsumi.

Everyone was silent, until Ginji said,

"We don't want you to leave."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Natsumi sighed. "I don't want to either but I have to. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

The door swung open as Ryuki called out, "Time to go, Natsumi."

She nodded.

Turning to her close friends, she said, "Well, I guess this is goodbye. Take care of yourselves, okay?"

In unison, everybody replied, "We'll miss you. Take care of yourself too."

Natsumi laughed at this and grinned.

Before she was completely out of their sight, Ginji said,

"We'll be back for you, Natsumi. I promise."

* * *

Yayy! I'm done! 

That took me soooooooooooo long to finish. I'm also sorry if there are so many lines!

Thanks for all the reviews... see you next time!!


	4. Chapter Four

I'm back!!

I wasn't too sure what to do with this chapter so I'm sorry if it isn't that good...

As usual, I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed my story!

And now, chapter 4...

* * *

From the last chapter: 

"We'll be back for you, Natsumi. I promise."

* * *

After Natsumi had left, it was very quiet. Everyone was thinking of what had just happened.

Finally, Kazuki said, "What are we going to do now?"

As though to answer his question, the door swung open once more, this time showing the face of Kagami Kyoji.

"It's time to go." He said, smirking slightly.

"What are you going to do to us?" asked Hevn, shaking slightly.

"We're going to let you go." Kagami stated matter-of-factly, "Natsumi kept her end and so her boss is going to keep his."

Ban sighed and stood up. There was nothing they could do.

"_At least not yet." _he thought silently.

Shido looked at the former Thunder Emperor. He had never seen Ginji so depressed.

"Ginji..." he said softly.

Ginji nodded his head stiffly, stood and said gruffly, "Let's get going."

The group walked out the door and out of Babylon City, leaving behind one of the most precious persons they had in life.

* * *

Back at the Honky Tonk, everyone was staring aimlessly around, the rainy weather matching their mood perfectly.

Finally, Paul said, "Oh for Pete's sake, stop moping around. Natsumi wouldn't want this and besides, we have to think of a way to bring her back."

Everyone looked at him. It was the first thing anyone had said since they had returned, which was 2 hours ago.

"Also, we have a job to worry about." Ban added.

Suddenly, Ginji's head turned quickly to Ban's direction.

"Is that all you care about? The money?" he said angrily.

Kazuki, Himiko, Hevn, Paul and Jubei were surprised. It was the first time they'd heard Ginji talk to his partner and best friend like that.

"No, of course not. I care about Natsumi too you know." He said quietly. "I was just thinking that the head of the Forbidden Section hired Natsumi back to protect the diskette. Now, if we get the diskette back, he might let her go."

Himiko shook her head. "If we even step foot in there, he'd release the poison in our body and we'd be dead in a matter of a few seconds."

Everyone thought silently for a few minutes.

"Which means we'd have to take the probes out first." Jubei said finally.

"But how do we do that?" asked Hevn wonderingly.

"Perhaps I may be of service?" asked a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to look at the doorway, where the newcomer had just stepped in through.

It was Akabane Kuroudo.

At once, Ginji turned into his chibi-form and hung tightly to Ban's arm.

"What are you doing here?" Ginji asked, shaking all over.

"I heard the news and I wanted to help."

"Who told you?" asked Kazuki calmly.

"A reliable source who wishes to remain unnamed."

"How do we know that we won't be killed if you try to take out the probes?" Jubei asked warily. He had never had a reason to trust this killing psychopath.

"I am a doctor and a surgeon after all. It wouldn't be a problem for me to take those annoying probes out, now would it?" he answered politely.

"Are you absolutely sure you know how to do it?" asked Himiko doubtfully.

"My, my, all these questions. If you really don't trust me, why don't you let that friend of yours, the pharmacist, do it?"

Hevn snapped her fingers. "Of course! I'm sure Gen would love to help!"

"Well then, let's pay the good doctor a visit, shall we?" said Akabane, smiling eerily as usual.

One by one, everyone stepped out the door and into the rain as they walked towards the humble home of Gen the pharmacist and his granddaughter, Ren, in the city of Mugenjou.

Meanwhile, Natsumi stared sadly at the window, watching the rain fall.

_Please find a way to free me, minna. Please do it quickly._

* * *

I'm done!

I'm sorry if it's short but I WAS running out of ideas, you know... Please give me suggestions okay? Please and thank you!

Lastly, review my story!

Well... until next time! Ja ne, minna!


	5. Chapter Five

Konichiwa! Sorry it took me so long to update… I was busy!

Thanks for the reviews and since I'm so thankful for these reviews, I'd like to give out a few awards…

The awards for most supportive and appreciative reviewers go to…

**lonestar 88, water melon wolfie, Bahaghari **and **Rabid Lola**!

The awards for most critical and helpful reviewers go to…

**Youkai Ryuu **and **donna8157**

Finally, the title of best reviewer goes to…

None of you! Why? 'Cause all of you are wonderful reviewers!

And now, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Enjoy!

* * *

From last chapter: 

_Please find a way to free me, minna. Please do it quickly._

After a few minutes of walking in the rain, they soon arrived at Gen's house in Mugenjou.

"Here we are." said Kazuki, knocking on the door.

Gen's granddaughter, Ren, opened the door.

"Kazuki-kun!" she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"If you don't mind kid, we'd like to talk inside where it's nice and dry." Ban interrupted rather rudely.

Ren nodded then opened the door to let them all in. She waited until the last person, Akabane, had gone inside afterwards she closed the door.

By then, Gen had heard them come in and so he turned on the light and faced them.

"What do you need?" he asked politely.

"We need you to help us." Hevn began to explain but Ban, who was in a rather bad mood for his clothes and hair were soaking wet, interrupted.

"Long story short, we need you to take out a few of these blasted probes in our bloodstreams so that we can go and get Natsumi back. " he said impatiently.

Hevn glared at him but remained silent.

"I see," murmured Gen, stroking his chin gently, "I'll see what I can do."

There was silence as Gen began to think of a possible way to help them.

"So, which one of you wants to go first?" he asked.

The group exchanged glances until finally Ban sighed and stepped forward.

"I might as well get it out already. I hate waiting." He said, walking towards the pharmacist.

Gen nodded and began to explain the procedure to him.

"_I hope this works, for their sake." _He thought.

"Alright, here's what I'm going to do. First, I need to know exactly where the probe is so I'm going to put another one inside your body to locate it, understand? "

"How will we know where the probe is?" asked Himiko.

"When it finds the probe, it will light up, brightly enough to be seen on the outside." He answered.

"Next, when we locate it, we're going to have to take it out. Since it will be relatively small, we can just draw a bit of blood out and the probe will go with it."

"How about the probe that you will inject? How are you going to take that out?" asked Himiko.

"Once it finds the probe, it will simply attach itself to the probe so that it will also go out when I draw your blood." He replied.

"Let's get this over with." Ban said firmly, extending his arm.

It only took a few minutes to take the probe out of Ban's bloodstream.

"Who's next?" Gen asked.

When they saw that nothing bad had happened to Ban, Himiko went next followed by Shido, Kazuki and Jubei.

Ginji was the last but when they turned to look at him, he was in his chibi-form.

"I don't want to do it!" he whined. "I DON'T LIKE INJECTIONS!"

Ban sighed and looked at Ginji.

"Ginji, do you care about Natsumi?"

"Yes."

"Do you want her to get her back?"

"Un"

"Do you want 5 million yen?"

Ginji's eyes glazed over at this and he nodded excitedly.

"Well if you want these things, you are going to have to take that injection."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not one bit." replied Ban, knowing that if he told Ginji that it did hurt a little, he wouldn't do it.

Ginji sniffled and said, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good." said Ban.

Gen did the same procedure as he did with the others to Ginji in his chibi-form.

"So did it hurt?" asked Ban.

"Only a little bit." replied his partner. "But you still lied to me you know, telling me it wouldn't hurt."

"Well, I had to." shot back Ban with a small smile. "If I didn't, I'd still be arguing with you now."

"Yeah well, that's the snake bastard. Ever the miserable and conniving liar." Shido said smirking at Ban, who in turn glared back.

"Let's just get going." said Kazuki calmly, trying to prevent a fight between Ban and Shido.

Kazuki then turned to Gen and Ren. "Thank you very much for helping us."

"Anytime." replied Ren while Gen simply nodded.

"You guys ready to go?" asked Shido.

"Wait," said Ban suddenly, "We're letting this homicidal psychopath come with us?" he asked, pointing to Akabane in disbelief.

"Is there a problem with that?" Doctor Jackal asked pleasantly.

"Oh just let him come Ban," Himiko argued, "He might be able to help us."

Ban sighed and said, "Alright, fine. But if he causes us any trouble, it's your fault."

Himiko nodded.

"Can we go now?" asked Hevn impatiently.

They nodded and with that, they left the pharmacist's home, now absolutely probe-free.

Meanwhile, things were happening in Babylon City, specifically in the Forbidden Section, where Natsumi was being held…

* * *

(Babylon City) 

Natsumi stared desolately and helplessly out the window.

"_What am I gonna do now?" _she thought hopelessly.

Suddenly, she could hear footsteps approaching the door.

Natsumi stiffened. _"Who could that be?" _she wondered

The metal door swung open, revealing a lanky man in a business suit, standing and looking at Natsumi with a smile on his face.

"Welcome back, Natsumi." He said smoothly with a smirk on his face.

Natsumi nodded, relaxing slightly.

"It's good to have you back. As I recall, you weren't able to fulfill your mission to kill the Four Kings, now did you? And if my sources are true, you even befriended them."

She nodded, having nothing else to say.

"Now what I want to know is, why did you leave? You had a good life and name here and yet you left it behind like it was nothing to you, nothing important."

Her fist tightened at this. "I left because I didn't want to do your dirty work anymore. I didn't want to be a mere puppet."

"And what kind of dirty work do you mean?" he asked curiously in a silky voice.

"Murdering. Cheating. Stealing. Kidnapping. Gambling. Those kinds of things."

"I see." He murmured.

"I want you to let me go. I don't want anything to do with you or your filthy organization. Do it, or else I'll kill you." Natsumi demanded.

Finally the man looked at her, a shadow covering his face but letting a dangerous smile be seen.

"I'll make a deal with you. You and I will have a battle. If I win, you're free to go. However, if I win, you are going to stay here and that's final. Deal?" he said, extending his right hand.

Natsumi, who had never thought that this boss of hers could actually fight, decided that she had a good chance of winning and so she also extended her right hand and said,

"Deal."

"Good. The battle will be held two days from now. I'll let you practice in the training hall with Ryuki later." He smiled mysteriously as he opened the door.

"Good luck, Natsumi. May the best fighter win." He said as he stepped through the door.

"_But Natsumi, what happens if you don't win? What happens if you underestimated him?" _her conscience asked worriedly.

Natsumi's stomach tightened into a knot. She hadn't thought of that.

"_I'll worry about it when it comes."_ She decided finally.

Turning to the window, she once again began her vigil of staring out into the rainy sky.

"_I hope Ginji and the others come soon. I don't know what's going to happen now."_ She thought worriedly.

* * *

Okay, I'm done! 

I'm sorry if the probe part isn't very good because I'm not really sure how to do it…

If you guys have any suggestions on how you want the story to turn out, feel free to suggest. Lord knows I need the help.

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you guys reviewed my story as usual… please and thank you!


	6. Chapter Six

Hey guys, I'm back!

Thanks for all your reviews… it's your support that keeps this story going!

And now, chapter six…

Enjoy!

* * *

From last chapter: 

"_I hope Ginji and the others come soon. I don't know what's going to happen now."_

* * *

"So, where are we going to start looking for her? Babylon City's a big place." asked Himiko once they had entered Mugenjou and were heading towards the upper floors - including Babylon City. 

"We'll just have to split up into groups, I guess, just like when we went here for the IL retrieval." answered Kazuki.

"But then we wouldn't know where the others would be!" argued Shido.

"And we could get lost." added Jubei quietly. "We may be familiar with Mugenjou but that's just the lower levels. We've never been able to go to the upper areas."

Suddenly, Ban had an idea. "Why don't we do it this way? We'll separate into two groups, one with Himiko and the other with Kazuki. Himiko can use her tracking scent while thread spool can use his strings. That way, we won't get lost. **1**" He suggested.

"So we've solved the problem of getting lost," said Hevn, "but if one group finds it, how will the other group know?" she asked.

Ban thought for a while, then said," Ginji can go with Kazuki so if they find it, he'll just send a bolt of electricity into the sky. Then, monkey trainer, you go with Himiko. If you find it, just send one of your animals over or something like that, understand?"

"_I never knew Ban could be this smart. Looks like he's changed, for the better hopefully."_ thought Himiko unconsciously. Then all of a sudden when she realized what she had been thinking, she blushed furiously and thought, _"Wait a minute, this is BAN we're talking about!"_

Ban glanced at her and was surprised to find that she was blushing furiously. He gave her a puzzled look, which only led her to blush even more. _"I wonder what's up with her?" _he thought.

Ginji's voice interrupted his thoughts. "So who's going with who?"

Immediately, Jubei sided with Kazuki. Akabane sided with Himiko, causing Ginji to let out a sigh of relief. Hevn went over to Ginji, not wanting to be with Dr. Jackal.

"_That leaves me to be with Himiko…and the monkey trainer." _thought Ban as he walked over to Himiko's side.

Shido glared at him and said, "Explain to me why I got stuck with you _again._"

"Tch. You and I just have rotten luck when it comes to these things." He replied, popping a cigarette into his mouth.

"We'll head this way and- " said Kazuki, pointing to the right corridor.

"- And we'll go that way." finished Himiko, pointing in the opposite direction.

Without another word, the two groups headed into the separate corridors, oping to find Natsumi before they were too late.

* * *

(Babylon City) 

A flicker of movement caused Natsumi to look towards the door, breaking her reverie.

The door creaked open, revealing Ryuki standing behind it. He smiled at Natsumi and said, "Come on, you need to practice."

Natsumi nodded and followed him, for she trusted him with her life.

When they arrived at the training hall, Natsumi merely glanced at it.

"It seems to me nothing's changed around here." She observed. It was true. The metal walls looked exactly the same as it had a few years before.

Ryuki ignored her and simply said, "Let's get to work.

* * *

(2 hours later) 

After two hours of kicking and punching, Ryuki finally agreed to take a break.

As Ryuki was sipping water from his water canteen, Natsumi, who was lying down on the floor, suddenly asked, "Why are you helping me?"

Ryuki looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you helping me to train. You're still a part of the Forbidden Section, right? If so, I'm supposed to be considered as your enemy. Now do you get it?" she replied exasperatedly. Honestly, Ryuki could be so thick sometimes.

"Well, I was ordered to by my boss." He said simply, hoping that his answer would satisfy her curiosity, even though he knew it would not.

Natsumi sighed, "Ryuki, you know that's not that answer I want."

Ryuki paused for a moment to close his water canteen before sitting on the floor next to Natsumi.

"I…I don't want our, no, my boss to win." He said.

This puzzled Natsumi. She had would have thought that Ryuki would want her to lose so that she would be able to stay with him.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

Her friend cleared his throat and began to explain. "After you left, I was a bit sad to say the least. However, over some time, I realized that you had made the right decision. You were too young to do all the dirty things we were ordered to do. Besides, sometimes, I would come down from here to take a look at you in the Honky Tonk." He paused as Natsumi looked at him in surprise.

"When I looked at you, you seemed very happy with your new life and that made me feel… good, I guess. I realized that the reason I helped you train and the reason I brought you here to the Forbidden Section was because I wanted to make you happy. When I met you, you seemed sad and lost so I thought that bringing you here would make you have a purpose in life, to be able to belong somewhere. Now I realize that what I did was wrong and I want to make up for it. I exposed you to things that no thirteen-year old kid should have seen. What you should have is a happy and normal life and if that's what you have outside, then I'm gonna help you get it back."

There was a pause after as Natsumi thought about what he had just said.

Finally, she smiled and replied, "Ryuki Tachimori, that must have been the sappiest thing you ever said in your entire life."

They both began to smile and laugh until they felt more comfortable with each other, just like before when they were partners.

"But Ryuki, you did make me happy, when you brought me here." Natsumi said seriously, "It did give me a purpose in life and it made me feel like I was in a family. It made me feel good about myself because I thought we were helping people, or so I thought. But when I went outside, I realized that there was more to life than killing, you know, that sort of thing. And even though I'm happier outside, I'll never forget you and I'll always be grateful for what you did for me." She finished, smiling at him.

"That's good because I'll never forget you either," he said smiling at his young friend. He took one look at the old clock hanging on the metal wall and said, "We have to practice, that is if you want to beat him."

She nodded and stood up. "Let's get to work."

As Ginji and the others were looking for her, a thought came across Ginji's mind, despite all his worries and anxieties.

"_We'll find you Natsumi, I promise."_

* * *

Author's note: 

**1 **I got the idea from "Wilhelm's Manuscript" by A Guy Named Goo. You should read it because it's really good!

I'm done! I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit too mushy and sappy but I just wanted you guys to understand Ryuki and Natsumi's feelings.

Oh and please don't expect any updates from Dec.6 - 16, or something like that because we have our T.E's. All Assumptionistas should know this. If you don't know what that means, it means our Trimestral Examinations or in other words, one heck of a long test which I really have to study for so I won't have time to post new chapters. Please don't blame me, blame our teachers!

Well, until next time!

P.S – If you people want to add me in Friendster, my email is . If you guys want to add me in Gaia, my username is moongoddess93. If you want me to add you, just tell me your email or username and include it in your review. (This just gives you another reason to review!)


	7. Chapter Seven

Hey guys, I'm back! Finally, our exams are over and Christmas vacation is here…

I'd also like to thank you all once again for your wonderful reviews!

I was feeling a bit lazy but then since it's Christmas, consider this as my Christmas present to you guys, alright? I'm sorry if it came a bit late though… Oh and a warning for just one piece of offensive language somewhere near the end.

And now, on with the story!

* * *

From last chapter: 

"_We'll find you Natsumi, I promise."_

* * *

(Ban's group) 

_"It's been an hour since we've separated and we still haven't found anything! God, how long is this gonna take? If this keeps up, I'm going to run out of cigarettes pretty soon… dammit."_ Ban thought as he, Himiko, Shido and Akabane wandered through the deserted halls of Mugenjou.

Suddenly, Himiko stopped and sighed exasperatedly, "Alright, that's it. We are officially lost."

"How can we be lost!? You have your tracking scent out don't you?" yelled Ban.

"Of course I do!" snapped Himiko. "I'm just not familiar with the pathways here in Mugenjou. Sheesh, if you think you're so smart, why don't you lead us straight to Natsumi?"

"Looks like we'll just have to retrace our steps." said Akabane, trying to defuse a brewing argument.

"Jackal's right guys. We won't get anywhere by arguing." added Shido. This surprised Ban a little since he knew that Shido was always looking for a chance to leap at his throat.

He cocked an eyebrow at this, which caused the Beastmaster to reply, "I just want to get this job over with."

"Probably because you want to be back in your darling Madoka's arms again." Ban snickered. Shido growled and would have done something rather destructive to Ban had Himiko not stopped him. "You said you wanted to finish the job right? Well, arguing isn't going to help you in anyway way whatsoever." Himiko told him. She didn't like it when they argued. It was so annoying since they seemed like little kids arguing over a lollipop.

Ban sighed. "Hang on," he said as he fished out his cigarette pack and lighter from his pocket. He then took out the last one inside the pack before throwing it carelessly on the hard floor.

"And what do you think you're doing?" snapped Himiko. "We don't have time for this you know!"

"I'm just going to light a cigarette, that's all. This won't take long anyway." He replied as he leaned against the cold metal wall.

All of a sudden, he released a startled grunt as he suddenly fell backwards as the wall behind him gave way.

"Ban! Are you alright?" asked Himiko worriedly. Which led her to think, "_Why am I so worried about him all of a sudden?"_

"I'm fine." He replied. Turning, he took a look at the room he had fallen into. It was dark and there were a few swords on the wall. He couldn't make out much since his eyes were still adjusting to the darkness.

"Well what have we here?" commented Akabane.

Shido stepped into the room just as Ban picked himself up from the floor.

"Looks like no one's here. Come on, we have to get going." He told Shido as he turned towards the hallway. "Well don't just stand there!" he said impatiently, "We have to go!"

Shido shot him a glare that silenced Ban. "Somebody's here."

Ban raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? I don't see anyone here."

The Beastmaster smirked. "You just have bad eyesight, that's all. I didn't really expect much from you anyway."

Ban growled at this and was about to say something just as insulting when suddenly a voice cut in.

"Ban-kun? Himiko-san? Shido-kun? And Akabane–san? What are you guys doing here?"

* * *

(Ginji's group) 

"Which way do we go now?" asked Hevn.

They were confronted with a fork and so they had to make a choice: to take the right path or the left path.

"How 'bout we flip a coin?" suggested Ginji, causing Hevn to raise her eyebrows. "At least it's an idea!" he protested.

"I think we ought to go this way," said Jubei, pointing to the right fork.

"What makes you say that?" asked Kazuki.

"I can hear voices and sounds of movement. It's very faint, but I'm sure it's there." He replied.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Ginji, grinning. He seemed to cheerful if you ask me, but maybe it was because he was happy that they were getting closer to Natsumi.

It was silent, save for the sound of Kazuki's bells tinkling.

A few minutes later, (which actually seemed like a few hours) Jubei, began tapping the walls with his left hand.

"Uh, Jubei, why are you doing that?" asked Ginji curiously.

Jubei looked up at him in surprise. "You mean you don't hear it?"

"What are we supposed to hear anyway?" asked Hevn rather rudely. Honestly, who could blame her? She wasn't used to being Mugenjou, wasn't used to the seemingly never-ending darkness.

"Well, I can hear voices and sounds of movement in the distance but it isn't coming from further down the hallway." He replied.

"So where is it coming from?" asked Hevn.

This caused Ginji to turn into his chibi form, climb onto Kazuki's back and say in a frightened tone, "There aren't any ghosts around here right?"

"Of course not." replied Kazuki. "You don't have to be afraid since there aren't any ghosts in Mugenjou, unless you count the virtual images."

Ginji turned back into his normal form and said thankfully, "Thank goodness. I really don't like ghosts."

"Like I said, where is it coming from?" asked Hevn impatiently.

"It's coming from the walls, meaning there must be a secret room here." the Kakei doctor replied

He continued to tap the wall until he stopped, causing everyone behind him to halt as well.

"What is it?" asked Kazuki, holding the strings in his hand carefully. Jubei simply said, "Here. See this?" he rapped the wall with his knuckles, "It sounds hollow when I tap it, so it means that there must be a room behind it."

"So we have to break it?" asked Hevn.

"No." he said. As he did so, he ran his hands against the cold surface of the wall until he pushed a button they hadn't realized was there.

The wall slid open, revealing a large training chamber.

"You're brilliant Jubei." whispered Hevn in awe.

"Arigato, Hevn-san." answered Jubei appreciatively. "Sometimes being blind isn't so bad since you get to enhance your other senses." He added.

The group stepped in the room quietly and carefully. However, as soon as they did this, a knife was suddenly pressed to Kazuki's throat.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the voice whispered softly.

Another voice yelled into the darkness, apparently to the attacker. "Stop Ryuki, don't hurt them! They're my friends."

"Natsumi?" shouted Ginji, "Is that you?"

"Why on earth are we standing in the dark?" asked a voice which sounded like Ban's

Seconds later, a bright light shone in their eyes. From the looks of it, somebody had switched on a fluorescent light.

"Now why didn't we think of that sooner?" said Ban sarcastically, aiming the insult to Shido, who had turn on lights.

"Oh shut up you snake-bastard."

"Same to you, monkey-trainer."

"Natsumi-chan!" cried Ginji in delight, breaking the tense moment between Ban and Shido. "It is you!"

Natsumi grinned as Ginji turned into his chibi-form and hugged her. As he did so, Ryuki carefully put the knife down. "Sorry 'bout that." He apologized to Kazuki, who nodded and replied, "That's alright."

Ryuki turned to Natsumi. "You might wanna introduce your friends to me."

Ginji stopped hugging Natsumi and pushed her protectively behind his back. "Why should we trust you?" he growled, for an eerie moment sounding like Shido.

"Relax Ginji, he's a friend." whispered Natsumi. "He wants to help me."

Ban cocked an eyebrow. "You sure about this?"

Natsumi turned around to face Ban. "I trust him with my life."

There was a moment of silence that was cut by Natsumi said in exasperation, "Oh for goodness' sakes, you guys don't have to be so tense! Nobody's going to attack you or anything."

"Yet." chimed in Akabane eerily.

"So how did you guys get here?" asked Hevn, directing the question to Himiko.

"Well, I never thought I'd say this but it was thanks to Ban that we got here." She replied

Hevn raised her eyebrow at this. "Oh really?" she said so sarcastically that Ban had to be stopped by Ginji from attacking Hevn.

"Un. If he hadn't leaned on the wall to light a cigarette, we might still have been wondering about this godforsaken place in circles."

"I see." murmured Hevn.

"So how did you get here?" asked Himiko in turn

"Well see, Jubei started tapping the walls then all of a sudden, he pushed this button which caused the wall to slide which let us get in here." summarized Ginji quickly.

"Arigato, Ginj-san." replied Jubei pleasantly..

Ban turned to Natsumi and Ryuki. "Now it's your turn to start explaining." He said.

"Basically, Ryuki's been helping me train for a fight." Began Natsumi.

"What fight?" asked Hevn.

"My boss said that they would have a battle. If she won, she would be free to go but if he won, she would have to stay and do whatever he wished for her to do." replied Ryuki.

"When will this be?" asked Jubei.

"Two days from now." answered Natsumi.

"Two days from now! I am most certainly not waiting that long for a fight!" shouted Ban in disbelief.

"And why is that?" demanded Himiko sharply.

"I don't have anymore cigarettes! How am I supposed to survive?!" he whined desperately.

Kazuki sighed. "And this is the reason why you should never smoke, nor get addicted to nicotine." He muttered, hoping that Ban wouldn't hear him. Unfortunately for him, he did.

"What did you say Itomaki?! Are you trying to pick a fight?" roared Ban, as he attempted to attack the Fuuchion heir. He had to be restrained by his partner, Jubei and Natsumi.

"Ban-kun, I didn't say that you have to wait for two days! You can go if you want." Said Natsumi, trying desperately to stop Ban.

"Please Ban-chan! You don't really need those do you? They're bad for your health and besides which is more important, Natsumi or the cigarettes?" asked Ginji, trying to stop his partner and best friend from doing anything to serious while Jubei, being Kazuki's bodyguard, said, "Don't you even think of harming Kazuki because if you do, you're gonna regret it!"

Suddenly, a pack of cigarettes flew out of nowhere. Ban caught in his right hand deftly.

"If it makes you so upset, you can have my pack. I don't need it as much as you do. I suppose you have a lighter?" said Ryuki smoothly.

Ban nodded and proceeded to light a cigarette with his lighter, the one with Yamato Kudo's initials on it.

Himiko saw this and asked, "Is that…" to which Ban replied gruffly,

"Yeah. He gave it to me before… before he died."

"Why did you kill him anyway, Ban? I-I need to know." She asked softly.

"I can't tell you, at least not know. Maybe some other time, when you're ready." He replied quietly, taking a drag out of his cigarette afterwards.

"But, I am ready!" she protested.

"Himiko, I promise, I'll tell you. Someday, but not today." He replied gruffly.

"Then you did kill him in cold blood, I knew it all along. The only thing stopping me from killing you is the fact that we have a job to finish." She hissed.

"Believe what you will Himiko" Ban said simply as he pocketed the lighter.

Meanwhile Natsumi was scolding Ryuki for the cigarette pack. "Mou! I thought you stopped smoking already! That's really bad for the health you know!" she said.

Dr. Jackal and the others simply watched the bickering amusedly.

Just as Ryuki was about to reply to what Natsumi had said, the lights flickered and went out. Everyone in the room instantly stopped bickering as they tensed, ready for an attack.

"Hmm… I just might decide to have this battled of ours a bit earlier. Would that make you any happier, ne Midou-san?" A sinister voice said from the shadows, which was followed by an evil laugh.

"Who's there?!" yelled Shido into the darkness.

They heard footsteps approaching them and they all turned to see who it was.

It was the head of the Forbidden Section, Natsumi and Ryuki's boss.

"This is supposed to be your boss? The man who controls The Forbidden Section? The one you're supposed to fight? Tch, he doesn't look much like a fighter at all." laughed Ban.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm stronger than I look, Ban Midou." He replied. Turning to Natsumi he said, I see that you're friends have found you. Interesting. Maybe it's time to show them what you can do. How about having the battle right here, right now? How does that sound?"

The former gentle waitress that they knew grabbed two katanas from the wall and went into a battle stance. "Bring it on, you son of a bitch." She growled.

And with that said, the most exciting battle ever to take place in The Forbidden Section began, for this would decide the fate of Natsumi, one of the most deadly assassins in Mugenjou.

* * *

Done! I'm sorry if I was lazy… but anyway, I have reviews to answer now! XD 

**Rabid Lola – **Yes, I'm an Assumptionista. And proud of it! XD Astig yung story mo, yung "The Karaoke and The Beastmaster"… update mo ha! What school do you go to? Tell meeee! Please? Sige na!

**angel-skie – **Yup, I totally agree. Natsumi should have better weapons than ping-pong balls.

**water melon wolfie** – Hoped you liked this one. You are one of my most faithful reviewers, and I thank you for that! :)

**Yuizaki Hiyono** – You're an Assumptionista too?! Cool! Where, in Sanlo or in Antipolo? And what grade?

**Bahaghari – **Thanks for wishing me good luck in the T.E's! Oh and for reviewing too! :)

**bc** – We'll see…

Thanks again for those who reviewed! Oh and don't hesitate to tell me your suggestions since these will all help me become a better writer in the future… thank you! :)

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! Hope you guys enjoyed the holidays! I know I did! XD


	8. Chapter Eight

Hi! I'm sorry if it took so long… I've been busy.

Well, thanks to all those who reviewed! Your support has really kept me going. Every time I read those reviews of yours, I always feel so happy with myself. You guys really make my day!

And now, here is the final chapter of Running From The Past!

Enjoy!

* * *

The two opponents circled each other, wary of the other's moves, not wanting to give the other a chance to strike. Natsumi's weapons of choice were two katanas, while her former boss' weapon was a long sword. Then they suddenly stopped and positioned themselves into a battle stance, as though waiting for something to happen. Ban, who was nonchalantly smoking cigarette, realized that they were both waiting for something to start the match. He walked to the middle of the two fighters and simply said, "When the cigarette falls down." And he threw the cigarette up into the air.

Although in reality it was only a few seconds, to those who were watching it fall, it seemed like an eternity. After what seemed forever, the cigarette fell on the ground, and everyone averted their eyes to the two adversaries before them.

They both pounced on each other, then disappeared, despite the glow of the flickering lights. It took them a few seconds to realize that this was because they were both moving to fast for the naked eye to see. Kazuki watched, thinking to himself, _"I never knew Natsumi could do this… She was always so gentle…"_

All they could hear where the sounds of swords clashing and clanging onto each other and feet moving lightly on the ground.

As they fought, Hevn whispered in a hushed and worried voice. "Look at that… that's _amazing_. Do you really think she can do it? I'm really worried. I mean what if she doesn't win!"

Ginji replied firmly, "I have faith in her. She can do it."

"I just hope your right Ginji, for all our sakes," muttered Ban quietly.

After a long while, they both separated from each other, panting and gasping for breath. Beads of sweat could be seen falling from their hair. So far, no one was bleeding.

Yet.

"You're better than I thought you would be." He said, smiling amusedly. "I always like a challenge."

"Good for you." Natsumi replied tersely.

He began to circle her, as though she were some lab experiment he was studying. "You're technique deals with the element of wind, am I correct?" he asked, as though they were just trading jokes and telling stories, as though they were the best of friends, not enemies who were trying to kill one another.

Natsumi began to pace around him too. Not sure of what he was planning to do, she answered him hesitatingly, "Yes."

He nodded in a good natured way, as though he was pleased with her answer. "Well, I also deal with an element when it comes to fighting. Care to know what it is?" he asked, encouraging her to ask. A trace of a smirk could be seen on his on his features.

"_What does he mean? I've never heard of him controlling an element… then again, he's very secretive about his fighting style. No one's really seen him fight. After all, he has people to do the dirty work for him…"_ she thought, laughing inside at the last sentence of her thought. "_I was one of those people…"_

She glanced at Ryuki, just in case he knew anything about it. He shrugged his shoulders, also puzzled. _"Well that's something. Ryuki's good at getting information, so if he doesn't know anything about it, it must really be a secret…"_

She turned back to her opponent. She decided to indulge him. "Yes, I would care to know exactly what you control." She was not sure what exactly his scheme was, but she was determined to find out.

To answer her question, he put the tip of sword's tip on the floor, then he suddenly brought it back up, causing sparks to appear on the sword's cold surface. At first, Natsumi wasn't sure of what he was doing, until that small spark transformed into a flame. Then it multiplied into more flames, until the entire sword was covered.

Wearing a smirk on his face, her dangerous adversary held the fiery sword up and said,

"I control fire."

He then lunged for Natsumi, who was caught unaware, and so she ended up with only one sword left, the other one having been sliced into half by her enemy's fiery weapon. "Consider yourself lucky that was just a sword. Next time, it'll be your skin."

She began to back away, fear and terror in her eyes. For the first time since the start of the match, she was truly believed that it was possible she could lose.

Or even die.

Her friends, sensing her fear, began to encourage her by showing their support and confidence in her.

"You can do it!"

"He's just a pile of garbage! You can beat him!"

"You'll be fine!"

"You don't have to be scared!"

"Kick that sick bastard's butt where it belongs Natsumi!"

She laughed inwardly at the last one. Then she suddenly heard the voice that she somehow knew would really give her the strength to continue to fight.

"I believe in you, " Ginji's voice stated simply, not resorting to cheers and yells his other friends were doing.

This struck Ban as odd. Knowing Ginji, he would have turned into his chibi form, and taken out his red fans and proceeded to do a fan dance to encourage her. _"Something's changed… I wonder what it is…"_

"Enough of this. Let's just finish what we started." Her foe snarled, apparently annoyed by their antics. "In fact, those won't help at all. When you fight, you're on your own and no amount of faith and confidence in you can help.'

"Is that what you believe? Are you really sure about that? 'Cause you're wrong." Natsumi shot back. For some reason, she now had the strength to fight.

"Let's end this." He growled.

He pounced on her again and was able to send her flying towards the wall behind her. Startlingly, she was able to perform a somersault and she landed on the wall with her feet and used it as a spring to jump back. He was not anticipating this and so he earned a slash on his chest, bleeding a bit of blood too.

He began hacking her fiercely yet clumsily, blinded by anger and rage. She was able to avoid this easily, weaving in and out of the path of his sword, although she did get a relatively small scratch on her shoulder. That didn't hurt much but the flames did, but she simply gritted her teeth. _"I have to win this." _She thought determinedly

"Natsumi! Remember the special attack!" yelled Ryuki suddenly. "That'll finish him off!"

She nodded and inserted her remaining sword into its sheath. She then bent her knees and body ever so slightly and positioned her right foot in front of her. He too positioned his body in a battle stance.

Everyone could sense that the battle was almost over.

He made the first move, impatient to get it done. He slashed the air, which would have been useless had it been a normal sword. But it wasn't, and it sent a slice of fire in Natsumi's direction. _"This all over now." _He thought triumphantly. _"She was really stupid to think she could actually beat me."_

However, Natsumi did the exact same thing by sending a vacuum of wind towards him and was able to disperse the deadly flames.

"Is that your special attack? Ooh, I'm so scared! You're never going to beat me, so it will be easier just to accept it!" he taunted her, truly believing in his victory.

"You're wrong. I can and will win because I have one thing which you don't have that gives me the advantage over you." She replied, her eyes covered by shadows.

"And what is that?"

"I have friends."

Natsumi didn't lose her patience over him and his taunts. Months of having to bear Ban and Ginji arguing in the Honky Tonk was finally becoming useful. In the time that it had taken for him to taunt her, she had once again resheathed her sword. Now, she attacked him, using a move no one could see quite clearly. It apparently was very effective, proven by the fact that her adversary now lay on the ground, his blood pooling around him. A large scar could be seen on his shoulders.

There was silence, broken by Ginji's cheers of "You did it! I knew you would!"

Then everybody ran towards her and hugged her, happy that she had won. When everything had settled down, Ban asked, "What exactly was that last attack of yours?"

Natsumi smiled and explained, "Ryuki taught it to me. It was called the Nine Headed Dragon strike. You see, it combines all the nine basic moves in kendo and puts it all together. Even if you survive the initial attack, there's no escaping the vacuum it creates."

"And how was he able to create those flames?" asked Hevn curiously. "I didn't see a match or a lighter anywhere."

"Simple." Kazuki answered. "His sword was probably covered with oil and so when there was friction, it created the fire."

"I see…" she murmured.

The door suddenly opened, and everybody readied themselves for an attack.

"Relax," a female voice said, "We're here to help." A group of people could now be seen clearly standing in the door way.

"So, who are you?" Ban asked warily, not wanting to be surprised.

"Believe it or not, we're a rebel group against the Forbidden Section here in Babylon City. We belong to the organization itself but we are sick and tired of it. We do whatever we can to help others and stop the organization. The members of our group are all sorts of people. Fighters, doctors, scientists, engineers, computer geniuses and more, all of them at the top of their field."

Natsumi raised her eyebrow. "I didn't know about this." Ryuki chuckled. "Natsumi, I belong to this group. This is our leader, Leila Sakakino."

"How exactly do you help?" asked Shido. "Have you been doing something about the assassinations? I was one of the Four Kings in the VOLTS group."

"Yeah, we are." replied Ryuki. "When someone I ordered to assassinate a person, that target is warned ahead of time so they have time to get out of here."

"I see," Himiko said. "Since he's been defeated, " she pointed to the head, or the former head of the Forbidden Section who was lying on the ground, "What are you guys going to do now?"

Leila shrugged. "Anything we want to do. After all, we're free already!" She smiled at Natsumi. "And so are you Natsumi. You beat him at his own game, you won fair and square."

Suddenly, Ban remembered something. "I'm sorry about the cliché, but do you have a diskette that could kill the inhabitants of the Lower Town? We're the Get Backers you see, and our main reason for coming here was to retrieve that diskette."

Leila frowned. "I think so. Come in to the store room and see if you can find it." A slight smile tugged on her lips. This puzzled them but they ignored it.

They soon found out why.

The store room was full of diskettes! Not only that, but they all looked alike. Everyone of the rebel group began laughing, while the jaws of everyone in the retrieval team dropped on the floor.

Leila, through her laughter, pointed to the computers and said, "If I were you, I would start checking those diskettes now."

**Epilogue**

Everyone was coincidentally, in the Honky Tonk. It had been a week after the events of the Forbidden Section. Jubei had reported to them that it no longer existed and that its head had been arrested.

Oh and the retrieval?

After hours and hours of searching through the diskettes, they found the program they had been sent to retrieve. Since many people in the Lower Town were computer generated (even though they weren't aware of it), the software was programmed to delete all those unnecessary people that they no longer needed for their experiments.

So did they get paid?

No. As usual, Ban and Ginji had bad luck on their side, which seemed to have spread to the other retrievers and transporters too. On their way to give the diskette back, they had argued on who would hold it (pretty silly if you ask me) so that it would look like he/she was the one who had found it. Himiko argued that it should be her since she was the transporter. Shido and Ban bickered over who was the better retriever, while Ginji tried to stop them from trying to kill each other. Kazuki didn't really care, while Jubei stood beside him warily, just to make sure that no one would hurt him. Jackal was there too, and he thought he had the best solution to all of the arguments.

He sliced the diskette into pieces.

There was silence after that. Until they all began yelling at him for his stupidity.

"Why on earth did you do that!"

"Are you crazy!"

"We could have earned a lot of money for that!"

"We went through all that trouble for NOTHING!"

"How could you!"

He simply walked away from the noise, saying that it was their problem now and that he didn't care whether he got paid or not. He had had his fun and he had another job waiting for him.

They explained it to their client. He wasn't upset, saying that it was best so it could never be used again. But he also said he wouldn't pay them, since they hadn't been able to give back what he was asking them to retrieve.

So now Ban and Ginji were penniless, begging Paul for food. In other words, everything was back to normal. Natsumi considered everything to be normal, except for the fact that they now knew who she really was. She was also back to normal, the same old Natsumi they knew, kind, cheerful and all.

While they were all lazing around, Ginji suddenly asked Natsumi a question that had been on his mind for quite some time now. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

The friendly waitress shrugged. "I guess I was afraid you guys would judge me, and you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. I _was_ sent here to kill you, you know."

Ginji put his hand gently on Natsumi's shoulder, causing her to blush slightly. Things had changed between them over the last coupe of days. She just didn't know what.

"Look, you don't have to worry about us changing you _ever _again. No matter who you are or what you've done, you'll always be a great friend to me." His hand slipped to her chin and he brought her closer to him and kissed her lips lightly.

Natsumi blushed even more furiously, and so did Ginji, much to everyone's amusement. Suddenly, Ban's fist came out of nowhere and collided with Ginji's head.

"Ouch! What was that for, ne Ban-chan?" he whined, turning into a chibi once again while rubbing his head painfully.

"You're thinking too much. That's not a good sign. You must be hungry." He replied with a smirk on his face. Turning to Natsumi, he asked, "Can we _please _have some food? We promise we'll pay for it… someday. Just put it to our tab, okay?"

Natsumi nodded, laughing at the same time. "One pizza coming up!" From behind his newspaper, Paul said, "You better make sure you pay for it, you got that Ban?"

"Alright already, don't be such a nagger."

As Natsumi prepared the pizza, she thought about what Ginji had said. She was foolish for thinking that they would judge her. They were her friends and the one good thing about being with your friends is you can act the just the way you are and they would never judge you. Outside, she could hear Ban and Shido bickering again about something very trivial while Ginji tried to stop them. She smiled, thinking,

"_Everything really is back to normal."_

* * *

Thanks for reading my fic! It's now finished, thank God.

Also, you might recognize some of their fight moves from Rurouni Kenshin. I don't own it, like I don't own Get Backers. I just borrowed it since I couldn't really think of anything… hehe, sorry about that!

Lastly, thanks for the reviews I got in 'The Snake Bastard vs. The Monkey Trainer' and 'Ban's Worst Memories'. I have another fic coming up. It's called 'Rain', so look out for it!

Please review! I'll be soooooooooooooo hapi if you do! )

Well, I g2g now so bye!

P.S – Happy summer vacation! We're FREEEEEEEEEE! (I must be getting crazy… hehe) XD


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